I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 189

If there was one positive outcome from the binding seal, it was that he could now sense the movement of magical power.

If it was magical power touched by Gillian, Dietrich could sense its movement even more keenly than Lucius. Gillian might not know it, but just as he had forcibly intervened in Dietrich, Dietrich, to some extent, could now interfere with him.

That was why he would have been the first to sense something disturbing in this hall. The unfamiliar energy moving near the statue.

Dietrich saw Adrian, who was closest to the statue, frown.

He knew Adrian had keen hearing, but he hadn’t expected him to be able to sense even the flow of magical power, and blinked blankly in surprise.

At this point, isn’t he almost like a beast?

He must be prepared, so even if he’s injured, it won’t be life-threatening. Dietrich thought during the unusually long stretch of time.

The culprit behind this explosion was Gillian.

But why?

Gillian wanted to maintain a good relationship with the Saintess. He had no reason to cause an explosion at her engagement ceremony.

‘No—’

He had a reason to turn against the Saintess because of Dietrich.

The day Gillian and the Saintess first met, Haniel had expelled Gillian from the banquet to protect Dietrich.

That alone was enough for Gillian to want to ruin Haniel’s celebration. In that case, if Adrian were injured, it would become a serious incident.

If even the slightest grounds existed to frame her as the culprit…

Dietrich quickly turned to look at Haniel. She was looking at Adrian.

Seeing the urgency in her eyes, Dietrich realized she was about to run to save Adrian. How she had sensed the flow of magical power didn’t matter to him.

Why does she keep worrying about Adrian like that?

Even if she’s a saintess and sensed the flow of magic thanks to her holy power, shouldn’t she be checking on her fiancé first, not Adrian?

Why is she looking at Adrian?

In that short moment, what he felt was jealousy. And, just as expected, the explosion followed.

The statue near Adrian collapsed, and he saw Haniel, who had pushed Adrian aside, pinned beneath it.

The moment he saw that, the jealousy that had been filling his heart vanished in an instant. What replaced it was worry.

Without even a moment to think, Dietrich ran to Haniel.

He didn’t even have it in him to scold Adrian for being fully capable of avoiding it himself.

The red spreading beneath looked like it didn’t belong to Haniel at all. Dietrich stared at the leg pinned under the statue, as if entranced, just like on that rainy street some time ago.

The raindrops had danced lightly, her stockings soaked through and clinging to her legs.

Now, those legs were soaked in red.

Gillian’s plot, Lucius’s gaze, thoughts of Haniel having saved Adrian—all of it flew out of his mind. Dietrich now understood only one thing.

That red did not suit Haniel at all.

***

The moment I pushed him away, the explosion filled the banquet hall. The statue behind Adrian toppled from the blast and fell on someone. Fortunately or unfortunately, the person wasn’t one likely to be mistaken for the player’s doing.

That is, the one who had protected Adrian—me. By some stroke of luck, it was only my leg that ended up pinned underneath.

From a gameplay standpoint, it was a fortunate outcome.

“Ugh…”

“…Saintess?”

If only it didn’t hurt this much.

Adrian, whom I had pushed aside, looked at me with a shocked expression. I needed to say something to him, but the pain in my leg made me groan.

Because I had run without even adjusting the sensitivity, I now felt the full brunt of pain, furrowing my brows as I let out a pained sound.

Of all things, the wound was in the exact same place Adrian had injured me in the last playthrough. The coincidence was almost too much. So much so that it didn’t even feel like one.

“Haniel!”

Dietrich came running over, calling out to me belatedly. The hall was in chaos. Screams about the explosion, people trying to flee the banquet, and Dietrich’s voice calling for me all blended together.

“Saintess, what… what happened…”

Adrian, with a bewildered face, asked haltingly.

It seemed he had vaguely sensed something the moment our eyes met before I fell.

He didn’t appear fully convinced that I was the same person who had once saved him long ago, but he stared at me in a daze, murmuring uncertainly.

At that moment, a system window appeared, blocking my vision.

<Adrian’s affection has greatly increased.>

Hmm, I wasn’t planning to capture Adrian.

That thought crossed my mind as I looked at the serious expressions around me. Once the system window disappeared and the faces around me became clear again, Lucius’s calm voice rang out.

“The injury is severe. I suppose it’s lucky it was only your leg that got caught.”

Even Gillian’s face, the one who caused the explosion, looked grave. Lucius, however, was the only one without a serious expression. He looked on with detachment, like a character in a film witnessing an injury.

<You have sustained a major injury!>

• If the wound is not treated within a certain time, permanent physical damage may occur.
• Sensitivity adjustment is recommended.

Ah, no wonder it hurt so much. So it was a serious injury after all.

Regretting that I’d rushed in without lowering the sensitivity, I quickly adjusted it down to level 1.

Doing so made the unbearable pain vanish, replaced by a dull, underwater-like sensation. I probably had the same blank expression as Lucius now.

In real life, it’s dangerous not to feel an injury, so I normally avoid adjusting sensitivity—but in cases like this when using the system, I always adjusted the setting after getting hurt.

Still, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from fainting from the injury alone.

While I lay groaning, pinned under the statue and unable to move, Lucius, who had brought the panicked surroundings under control, spoke to Dietrich.

Dietrich, for his part, wore a dazed expression, staring blankly down at my leg.

“Dietrich, what are you doing? You’re no physician—do you think just staring will help?”

“Her leg…”

“First, we need to get the statue off of it.”

Even then, Dietrich couldn’t bring himself to lift the statue and simply stood there, dumbfounded.

Only after Lucius urged him did light return to Dietrich’s eyes.

I reached out and took Dietrich’s hand. He gripped mine tightly in return. I saw how pale his hand turned, but because of the sensitivity adjustment, I couldn’t feel any pain.

Thinking that Dietrich seemed to be in a panic, I simply squeezed his hand in reassurance.

Meanwhile, others around us lifted the statue off my leg. I felt no pain thanks to the sensitivity setting, but Dietrich stood in front of me, shielding my view of the injury and holding my hand tightly.

He said in a grief-stricken tone, “Haniel, look at me.”

“It’s okay. It’s not that bad.”

The way he spoke was so sorrowful that it made me certain I wouldn’t be able to use my leg anymore. His voice was so full of gloom that I felt like I had to be the one comforting him.

Then Adrian, who had stood up, came over to me.

He still looked confused.

I knew the line I’d need to say if I wanted to begin capturing him here. But doing that now would interfere with Dietrich’s nearly completed route.

So instead, I just smiled at Adrian as if to say I was fine. Dietrich saw that smile and his face twisted.

“You’re smiling in a situation like this?”

“You said I’d be fine. It’s not that serious, right?”

“Yes. It’s not serious. So just a little longer…”

I tried to soothe Dietrich.

<Dietrich’s affection has increased.>

• Maximum affection level reached.

“Then I’m fine.”

“…Yes. You’ll definitely be okay.”

<Dietrich Affection: ♥♥♥♥♥>

System windows popped up in succession. One was the good news that I had now laid the foundation to complete Dietrich’s capture.

<Incident: ‘Gillian’s Threat’ is in progress.>

• The player must stop Gillian’s threat together with the capture target.

It was not so pleasant news to hear.

I frowned as I read the system message that appeared late.

With my leg in this state, I likely wouldn’t be able to move for the remainder of the playthrough. If things continued like this, there would be many instances where Dietrich—the capture target—would have to confront Gillian in my place.

But I wasn’t confident that Dietrich, who had yet to overcome Gillian, could really do that.

Something seemed to have changed in his eyes, but I couldn’t quite guess what he was thinking. That uncertainty was made worse because I had never discussed this kind of situation with the real Dietrich.

“Lady Haniel!”

Huh. That voice…

A familiar voice made me lift my head. A man with a distorted brow and an otherwise expressionless face, now filled with desperation.

Ardal had arrived at the banquet hall—too late.